Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Social Services: Minimum Wage

baroness campbell of surbiton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on personal budget holders as a consequence of the retrospective implementation of the change in guidance on the national minimum wage and national living wage for sleep-in shifts for care workers.

lord henley: Court and Employment Appeal Tribunal judgments have clarified, over time, what constitutes “work” in connection with sleeping time and therefore when the national minimum or living wage (NMW) is payable for sleep-in shifts. The Government recognises that cumulative financial liabilities relating to sleep-in shifts could pose challenges to some social care providers and individuals, including personal budget holders. The Government is currently engaging with the social care sector to understand the impact of those liabilities and is exploring options to minimise the impact on the sector, including opening discussions with the European Commission to determine whether any support, if deemed necessary, would be subject to EU state aid rules. The Government launched the Social Care Compliance Scheme (SCCS) on 1 November 2017. It aims to maintain care service provision, protect existing jobs and maximise the prospects of workers being paid arrears as soon as possible. The SCCS is open to all care sector employers, including personal budget holders and self-funders. It means that individuals affected can benefit from a certain period of time to review what is owed. In practice, where an individual is the subject of an NMW investigation, we expect local authorities to work closely with HMRC to ensure the right outcome in light of the individual’s needs where any liability is identified.

Cabinet Office

Carillion: Insolvency

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when Ministers first met with representatives of Carillion to discuss the implications of that company's financial position.

lord young of cookham: Departmental officials meet strategic suppliers to Government on a regular and ongoing basis. In respect of ministerial meetings, in October 2017 the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice met representatives of Carillion to discuss justice-related contracts during which the company’s financial position was discussed among other issues.As a routine, departments publish quarterly details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations on GOV.UK, including those with representatives from companies such as Carillion. Cabinet Office returns can be viewed using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications

Ministry of Defence

Imports: Israel

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what military and crowd control equipment they purchased from Israel in 2017.

earl howe: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Future Large Aircraft

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current estimated cost of the A400 Atlas aircraft programme; how many of the aircraft have been delivered to the RAF so far; how many are operational; and when they expect deliveries to be complete.

earl howe: The forecast UK acquisition cost of the A400M Atlas transport aircraft programme is £2.6 billion. The current UK fleet size is 18 aircraft and of these, 15 are operational while three are at a facility in Spain being modified to bring them up to the latest capability standard. 22 A400M aircraft have been ordered by the UK and the final delivery is expected in 2022.

Navy: Military Aid

lord naseby: To ask Her Majesty's Government which Royal Navy ship will undertake future tasks of the type that HMS Ocean undertook in the relief efforts following Hurricane Irene.

earl howe: Depending on the nature of the disaster relief efforts required, the Government can call on the versatile and highly capable ships of the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary. These ships can deliver life-saving assistance and supplies in response to natural or man-made disasters around the world.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Intervention Stocks

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the value of the UK's powdered milk stockpile; what other products they are stockpiling under the Common Agricultural Policy; and in what quantity and value; and what they expect to be the final destination and selling price of the stockpiled products.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) public intervention system allows operators to request that a Member State buys certain agricultural products such as Skimmed Milk Powder (SMP) into public storage. Such stocks are subsequently resold when market prices recover. With the greater market orientation of the CAP, public intervention now operates as a safety net measure that is only relevant when prices are very low, as occurred during the “milk crisis” of 2015/16 when large quantities of SMP were bought into public intervention in the EU. As at 22 February 2018, the UK held 7,731.85 tonnes of SMP in public intervention stores, equivalent to around 2% of total EU purchases. Based on the intervention price of €1,698.00 per tonne, the total cost of purchasing these stocks would have been €13,128,681.30 (£11,678,155.88 using the 2/1/2018 European Central Bank exchange rate). The European Commission has arrangements in place to sell a certain quantity of the older stock of SMP back onto the domestic market by means of a tendering procedure. The ability to sell the stocks and the price realised depends on a number of factors including the market price, the competitiveness of the bids and the quantities bid for. Sales of EU SMP stocks in February achieved a minimum price of €1100 per tonne. There are no other products held in public storage in the UK under CAP measures.

Home Office

Asylum: Housing

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent report by Refugee Rights EuropeA Hostile Environmenton the challenges facing asylum-seekers currently residing in asylum accommodation in the UK,particularly with regard to concerns about (1) safety, (2) welfare, and (3) sanitary conditions.

baroness williams of trafford: Accommodation providers are required to provide safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped accommodation that complies with the Decent Homes Standard in addition to standards outlined in relevant national or local housing legislation.The contract requires Providers to visit and inspect each property every month and UKVI inspects a significant proportion of properties each year to ensure standards are being met. During inspections they ensure that the accommodation is safe. There are trained staff on site in initial accommodation to protect the safety and welfare of all service users.Communal area of initial accommodation sites are cleaned regularly by service provider staff. It is the responsibility of the service user to ensure that their bedrooms and kitchens are kept clean.Where asylum accommodation is found to be falling short of the required standards UKVI has procedures in place to hold suppliers to account to quickly resolve the issue.

Police and Crime Commissioners: Fire and Rescue Services

baroness pinnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to consider the views of fire service and governance experts when reviewing the independent assessments relating to Police and Crime Commissioners taking over responsibility from fire and rescue authorities.

baroness williams of trafford: If a relevant local authority indicates that it does not support a PCC’s proposal to take on governance of local fire and rescue services, the Secretary of State must obtain an independent assessment of the proposal. The Home Secretary and Minister for Policing and Fire Service appointed the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy to carry out independent assessments of the proposals submitted by the PCCs for Hertfordshire, Staffordshire, Cambridgeshire, West Mercia and North Yorkshire.CIPFA has substantial public finance expertise and works closely with police and fire and rescue services and is therefore well placed to provide an independent, professional view on proposals. Whilst the conduct of the assessment is for CIPFA to determine, they may contact other organisations if they are of the view that additional input or expertise is necessary to help them make a judgement on whether the proposal is in the interest of the statutory tests. CIPFA secured the views of the local police force, fire service and local authorities during the independent assessment process.The Secretary of State must consider the PCC’s proposal, independent assessment, consultation outcomes, and any further representations along with the PCC’s response to them, when coming to a view on whether the proposal is in the interests of economy efficiency and effectiveness or public safety. No additional weight is given to one stakeholder’s views over another.

Police and Crime Commissioners: Fire and Rescue Services

baroness pinnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the principle that the governance of fire and rescue services should be determined by residents within the area served will continue in the light of proposals to make these services subject to governance by Police and Crime Commissioners.

baroness williams of trafford: PCCs have clear local accountability and a strong mandate to transform and improve emergency services for their communities. The Policing and Crime Act 2017 enables PCCs to make a case to take on responsibility for the governance of fire and rescue services in their area where it is in the interests of economy, efficiency and effectiveness or public safety. The decision on whether to develop a proposal to take on fire governance rests with the PCC.Before submitting a proposal to take on governance of the fire service, the PCC must consult each relevant local authority, the public within the commissioner’s police area, and persons appearing to representing employees of the police and fire services. This ensures that the PCC is able to properly consider the views of the local community before deciding whether to submit a proposal to take on fire.Where a PCC takes on responsibility for fire and rescue they will be known as the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and will be directly elected by the public with a clear mandate to oversee both policing and fire.

Visas: Migrant Workers

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential effect of new visa and immigration requirements on start-ups which do not have the resources to support visa applications.

baroness williams of trafford: There have been no changes in recent years to the resource requirements for migrants in the Tier 1 Entrepreneur or Graduate Entrepreneur routes.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit: Economic Analysis

lord kinnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on 30 January (HC Deb, col 687) that civil service economic forecasts “are always wrong, and wrong for good reasons”, whether arrangements have been made for an alternative modelling and analysis of possible trade conditions after the UK’s departure from the EU; and if so, what changes in forecasting methods are to be made.

lord callanan: The Government is undertaking a wide range of analysis and preparatory work that will contribute to our exit negotiations with the EU, to define our future partnership with the EU, and to inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks.As ministers clearly set out in the House, the analysis that appeared in the media contains provisional internal analysis and does not represent Government policy. It is part of a broad ongoing programme of analysis, and further work is in train. The Government has been clear that it will not provide a running commentary on any aspect of this ongoing work.

Economic Growth

baroness quin: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is their policy to ensure that no region of the UK will see economic growth reduce as a result of Brexit.

lord callanan: We are committed to getting the best possible deal for the United Kingdom - a deal that works for all parts of the UK.We continue to engage with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy, and all regions and nations of the UK, in order to inform our negotiations.

Brexit: North East

baroness quin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what meetings are planned to discuss the impact of Brexit on the north east of England between Ministers and representatives of (1) business, and (2) local government.

lord callanan: Ministers from the Department of Exiting the European Union have visited the North East of England on a number of occasions since the Referendum. On the 26 January, the Secretary of State visited Tees Valley Port, where he gave a speech setting out the UK’s vision for the Implementation Period and met local business leaders to discuss the opportunities for the Tees Valley from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. The Government is committed to positive and productive engagement with key business stakeholders and local government in the North East, as well as all of the UK, to understand the potential impact and opportunities presented by EU Exit.